The Jingle Jackal's Christmas Surprise
by Animegirl1129
Summary: Jason comes home to discover that Santa has given him a rather interesting present, as well. Slash. Kinda late, it is Christmas fic. Set during the Jingle Jackal episode.


The Jingle Jackal's Christmas Surprise

**_Set before the last scene of the Jingle Jackal episode. And, yes, I know it's January. I'm not almost a month late. I'm 11 months early. So. Yeah. Much thanks to cynical_sweater on LJ because she is epic, and awesome, and, oh yeah, did I mention epic? Boys aren't mine, sadly. Enjoy!_**

* * *

He steps into the penthouse, thoroughly exhausted after staying up all night dealing with the last of the fallout from the Russian's end of power. It's over now, something for which he is eternally grateful. The unpredicted snowfall slowed him down, as well, but having a white Christmas is a small price to pay for the sight he walks in on. He pauses as he closes the door behind him, stopping it from slamming in favor of softly clicking it shut once he spots his young roommate sleeping peacefully on the sofa.

Spinelli's arm is thrown over his eyes, but Jason stops on his way upstairs to grab a blanket from the hall closet and toss it over the boy. It proves to be a mistake, however, in that Spinelli begins to stir.

"Go back to sleep." Jason says, but sleepy green eyes are blinking up at him.

"Stone Cold?" A very drowsy voice reaches his ears, so he sits down on the coffee table beside Spinelli. "You won't believe what miraculous holiday festivities transpired while you were out dealing with the downfall of the Russian Ring of Ruthlessness."

Jason stares, "You and Maxie got together?" He ventures a guess, as much as he doesn't exactly like that idea – though he'll never admit as much out loud.

Spinelli shakes his head, snuggles under the blanket Jason provided, looking all kinds of warm and comfortable and inviting. "The Fair Maximista did play a part in the yuletide rescue, but-"

"Rescue?" The elder cuts him off there. Who was rescuing who? If Spinelli was in danger and he didn't know about it – again, he might add, as Maxie had a tendency of _not contacting him_, like she hadn't made him aware of the concussion Sonny had caused or of the fact that Spinelli had been committed to and subsequently broken out of Shady Brook - he was not going to be happy.

"The Jackal assures you he was unharmed, and not even the one in peril." He explains as quickly as he can while half conscious, to appease the building wrath of Stone Cold he can see coming in the other's eyes, even though it's too dark in the room to see much at all. Despite the unholy hour of morning, Spinelli still knows Jason too well. "We had an unexpected visitor to Casa De Stone Cold. It seems he had a technical malfunction of his PDA which caused a rather massive amount of data loss that even the Jackal was unable to…" Spinelli lets out a wide yawn that makes Jason remember just how tired he had been. "…completely undo. He tasked your humble grasshopper with going through the homes of Port Charles and trying to figure out what everyone wanted most. Alas, Maximista and the Jingle Jackal were only able to visit three houses, but…"

Jason is decidedly very much confused. He's managed to decipher that someone, an intruder, was in their house, and that Spinelli, instead of calling him, or Max, or anyone, left him alone and wandered around town for the guy. He had to have misheard. "Who was here?"

"Mmrgnh. It was Santa." Spinelli mumbles, eyes wandering toward the window, where a good foot of snow has piled up in the hours since he went to sleep. "Said if I helped him out, he'd do something special for me."

Beginning to suspect that Spinelli's ramblings are the direct result of too much orange soda and not enough sleep, Jason leans over and ruffles his hair. "That's… that's great, Spinelli." He says. "You should get some more rest."

Those sleepy green eyes, now tinged with a dash of hurt lock with his, and he can't bring himself to move. "You don't believe me, Stone Cold?"

"You were dreaming." Jason assures the younger, but Spinelli is unconvinced.

"No, I wasn't. We went to see the Blonde One and the Proud Patriarch, and all the Crazy Q's, and Doctor Robin and company. And Santa said all their Christmas wishes came true because the jingle bells rang." Spinelli stares at him, voice as convincing as a little kid trying to argue an unrealistic point, and Jason wants to believe him. "It was real. It had to be."

Jason shrugs. He doesn't want their Christmas to start out in a fight. Really, he'd prefer getting through the entire day without any interruptions at all, especially since Maxie has already informed them that she won't be able to come over. "Alright." He says, because weirder things have certainly happened in Port Charles - he does recall a potential catastrophe with an out of control weather machine sometime back in the 90's courtesy of the rather rogue members of the Cassadine family. "I believe you." He promises, and Spinelli grins up at him.

"You do, Stone Cold?"

"Yeah. Now," Jason says, tugging lightly on Spinelli's arm to get him into a sitting position. "Come upstairs, get some sleep, okay? The, ugh, Jingle Jackal," He struggles to say the name with a straight face, "needs some rest after helping Santa out all night, right?" His attempts at persuasion are well received, as the younger does not protest when Jason pulls him to his feet.

However, Spinelli is clearly just as tired as he looks, because he more or less falls on top of Jason the second he'd normally be able to stand. They're pressed chest to chest and Spinelli's face is barely an inch from his own. "You know, Stone Cold, the Jackal must inform you that your infamous Stone Cold glare is a lot less threatening from this angle."

Jason laughs, despite the elbow digging into his ribcage, and manages to keep them upright for a good few seconds before he totally loses his balance. Doing so, it turns out, involves Spinelli flopping on him again anyway, this time on the sofa. There are still rather pointy elbows bruising his rib cage, but he can't say he really minds all that much.

"Or we could just stay down here." Spinelli amends Jason's previous request to go upstairs, granted this was not what he'd had in mind.

"Did you lose the ability to walk while I was gone, too?" He asks, hand settling on the younger's hips because shifting like that manages to remove the elbow from his chest. "Or are you just exhausted from acting as Santa's head elf?"

Slightly more alert now, but not completely, Spinelli tries to shift off of his roommate, but two things stop him. The first, being the obvious hold Jason has on him. The second being the sound that erupts from seemingly everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Jingle bells.

"What…?" Jason asks, tilting his head back to look out onto the balcony. No one's there. And there's only the two of them in the Penthouse.

Spinelli is grinning though, like its Christmas – which, in all fairness, it is – even as Jason's eyes continue to search for the nonexistent source of the sound. "I told you so." He gloats, moving his hand to playfully shove at Jason's shoulder. The gift tag attached to his wrist wasn't there before, though, so Spinelli feels rather compelled to investigate its presence.

"You were serious." Jason gapes, simply floored by the fact that Spinelli's half conscious tale wasn't a dream.

"And it seems he's sent me some useful information into granting another Christmas wish."

Jason is confused until he spots the tag hidden in Spinelli's hands. "What's that?" He asks, reaching for the paper, but Spinelli doesn't let him grab it.

Instead, he seems transfixed as he stares at Jason, as if something is dawning on him, which, perhaps it is. "You… were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Jason wonders, still trying to reach the mysterious paper. "What are you talking about?"

Spinelli is still staring at him, and its' becoming a bit awkward being under such intense scrutiny, especially by Spinelli's now not so sleepy green eyes. He doesn't say anything, but his grip relaxes on the paper.

Jason grabs for it again. It's tethered to Spinelli's wrist through an elastic band, like any gift tag might be, but it refuses to come off when Jason tugs at it. "To: Stone Cold, From: Santa?" He reads, incredulous even as his eyes meet Spinelli's. "What's-"

"You care for the Jackal?" Spinelli asks, looking simply awestruck by this revelation. He grins, eyes sparking with what can only be described as unbridled joy and perhaps a bit of mischief. He shifts off of Jason, allowing the elder the opportunity to sit up.

"Of course I care about you, Spinelli." Jason counters, as he moves to match the other's position. "We live together - you're my roommate, you're one of my best friends. Why wouldn't I care about you?" He asks, rather hopeful that the younger will remain blissfully oblivious to his true feelings on the matter.

But, he should really give Spinelli more credit, and perhaps start taking his P.I. suggestions seriously, because suddenly Jason feels rather like a suspect under interrogation as opposed to a guy having a conversation in his own living room. "The Jackal will not be so easily outfoxed by Stone Cold's words. Clearly, there has to be some underlying meaning in the mysterious message from dear Saint Nicholas." A confident grin crosses Spinelli's feature, rather like he knows something Jason does not. "How does your Christmas wish - abstruse and ponderous as it may be - manifest in the shape of yours truly? What exactly does that say for your feelings towards the Jackal? More than perhaps simple roommates or even best friends?"

Jason tries his best to glare at the accusations, but he never has mastered the ability to actually be mad at Spinelli over much of anything. Instead of acknowledging the problem - the proverbial pink elephant in the room, as Spinelli would likely say – he remains silent, looking rather like a stubborn child himself in that he has simply refused to respond.

Spinelli doesn't seem particularly bothered by his lack of acknowledgement. "And if it is neither brotherly affection nor simply the bond of friendship, then the Jackal can only assume that Stone Cold's feelings towards him are that of a decidedly romantic nature."

"No, it's-" He wants to tell Spinelli that he's wrong, that Jason isn't interested in him like that. But, the evidence is piling up against him. Between Santa's unhelpful interference and Spinelli putting two and two together, his chances of getting out of this with his secret intact are rapidly diminishing. "Yeah, you're right."

"I am?" Spinelli's mouth opens and closes as if he is attempting to say something else, but nothing comes out. He is clearly floored by Jason's admission.

A moment passes in what seems like eternity and neither man makes a move to speak. Jason is watching Spin watch him, which is just as confusing as it sounds. Especially since Jason can tell that Spinelli's mind is simply whirling as it processes what he's just been told. But, the awkward silence continues on for far longer than he would like and Jason can't help but wonder if perhaps he should have continued to deny what the rather intrusive note was claiming.

Forever and no time at all pass in approximately three minutes and fifty two seconds.

And finally, Spinelli moves, which Jason was not expecting. He leans over, and Jason's hands land on the younger's arms of their own free will. But, it's clear he wasn't expecting Spinelli to kiss him, which is exactly what he does.

"I…" Spinelli starts, when he pulls away an all too brief second later. "Was that…? …okay?" But, Jason is just staring at him, not even breathing as far as Spinelli can tell. "I, ugh, that is, Stone Co-…"

This time it's Jason that makes the move. One of the hands that had been resting on Spinelli's arm moves up, to curl around the back of his neck pulling the younger closer and into another kiss. Deeper this time, and lasting substantially longer than the last. "Very." Jason answers, as his other hand fists into the material of Spinelli's sweater.

Spinelli shifts closer, and Jason pulls them backward, in an attempt to presumably resume their previous position, with Spinelli practically straddling him, only… somewhere in the process, someone's balance is decidedly off. Instead of landing on the sofa, as intended, Jason ends up on his back on the floor, although Spinelli does end up on top of him.

"Mrngh." Jason groans on impact, and their air is partially knocked out of his lungs, but he doesn't break their kiss for more than a second. His hands once again settle on Spinelli's hips, and the warm skin he finds where Spinelli's shirt has ridden up is really very tempting. His fingers trace random patterns there even as he moves to suck intently at Spinelli's collarbone.

Spinelli's hands are busy, too, trying in a desperate attempt to get Jason's t-shirt out of the way, which proves slightly more difficult than expected given that the elder is thoroughly pinned to the hard wood floor. He groans when Jason nips lightly at his neck. "Nngh, Stone Cold…" He gets out, before his lips are covered again.

Jason shifts so that the next time they separate for air, Spinelli can pull his shirt over his head, which he does, and suddenly the younger's hands are all over him, pressing against his chest and leaving half moon impressions with blunt fingernails. "C'mere," Jason growls, as he pulls him down again.

Spinelli complies, but his hands wander lower, gripping Jason through his jeans.

But, then Jason is looking intently at him, and his hands stop Spinelli's from going anywhere else. "Wait." He says, as if it is not already obvious that he's halting their activities. At the younger's nervous look, he elaborates. "Don't feel obligated to do any of this because of this stupid," He uses one hand to flip the gift tag still attached to Spinelli's wrist. "Thing. If you don't want to, just say so. I don't want you doing anything you'll regret."

"The Jackal is the one who initiated this, was he not?" Spinelli counters, as he tries to free his hands. But, Jason is having none of it.

"This isn't some sort of side effect of all this Christmas Wish stuff, is it? Like… Santa didn't cast a spell on you or drug you or anything, right?" Jason is pretty sure the answer is no, but he'll feel better about it once Spinelli verifies.

And, indeed, the younger man laughs, and the movements it causes remind Jason that they were kind of in the middle of something getting pretty heated when he foolishly stopped it. "I am fairly certain dear Saint Nicholas does not turn to recreational drugs to grant holiday wishes, nor does the man wave around a magic wand flippantly casting hocus pocus spells."

Jason seems suitably appeased by the answer, and suddenly, before Spinelli is even aware that Jason has moved, he is the one pressed firmly to the floor and Jason is hovering over him. They've narrowly avoided several possible injuries courtesy of the closely placed coffee table, but however Jason managed to pull it off they are a safe distance away from the wooden structure, and really, at this point, neither is paying much attention to it.

"Lift up." Jason orders, tugging impatiently at Spinelli's sweater.

Spinelli does as asked, and his shirt joins Jason's on the floor a few feet away. "What're you-" Spinelli starts, but Jason cuts him off when he presses a finger to Spinelli's lips. It works for a moment, at least, as Jason presses hard kisses in a path down Spinelli's chest. Somewhere around his navel, the younger realizes where he's headed. "Oh…"

Jason's fairly certain that no one's done this to Spinelli before. As far as he knows, his roommate has only been involved with two people. He knows Spinelli's first time was with Jolene, at the hospital, only a one-time thing. And he knows Spinelli has been with Maxie a couple of times, including the time he walked in on them on his couch, but he's not particularly worried about that right now. He catches the band of Spinelli's jeans, tugging them down, undoing them as he goes, and Spinelli's boxers disappear as well.

The first time Jason touches him, Spinelli jumps and then, conversely, he freezes. "You okay?" Jason asks, in case Spinelli has suddenly realized exactly what they're doing and that maybe he's not as into it as the evidence would suggest.

Spinelli manages a nod before he actually gets words out. "Oh…. Most assuredly, Stone Cold." He groans, and Jason grins back at him.

He presses a kiss to the inside of Spinelli's thigh, nips lightly at the sensitive skin there, and he can feel Spinelli shiver as he does. Jason starts for real, then, as he licks along the tip of the other man's length. Then he pulls away, deciding that a little bit more teasing is in order. He blows cool air on the damp flesh and the sound Spinelli makes in response makes Jason smirk. "You still with me?"

He gets something somewhere between 'guh' and 'yes' in answer from the younger man, and it becomes painfully obvious this is the first time Spinelli's ever gotten this particular kind of attention.

A hand pressed firmly against Spinelli's hip, he takes Spinelli into his mouth. Jason runs his tongue along the hardened organ's tip, even as his lips move over more of the sensitive flesh. And he s rather glad he had the foresight to hold Spinelli down because the younger man tries desperately to shift ad buck his hips.

His eyes lock with Spinelli's, those sleepy green eyes now totally awake and glazed over and clouded with lust, and Spinelli stills, muttering a barely audible apology for his uncalled-for movements even as Jason continues to work him up.

The fact that Spinelli can still speak in Jackal worthy sentences tells Jason it's time to step it up a bit. However, given that he does not have the necessary supplies for this to progress any further and he'd rather like this to be a bit less caveman style and a little bit more romantic, he deems in necessary to pause their proceedings once again. "I wanna do this right." He says, by way of explanation as he moves away.

Spinelli reaches out for him, and starts to protest, but Jason hefts the younger man to his feet and the kissing resumes. "Have we not established that my ability to stand on two feet has been quite compromised for the duration of the evening?"

"Hold on, then." Jason instructs, as he bends and shifts before throwing Spinelli over his shoulder. Not the first time he's done that, but his intentions are much more interesting this time around. He makes his way quickly up the stairs and into his bedroom, depositing his cargo on the bed before climbing over him once again. "Do you want this to go further?" He asks, just to be sure.

"Yes." The simple, non-Spinelli-Speak answer convinces Jason that he's sure about that.

Jason moves to grab a condom and a bottle of lotion from the nightstand, and Spinelli's green eyes watch his every move. He settles between the other's legs again and continues where he left off downstairs. He trusts Spinelli to keep still while he works this time, using one hand to reach for the bottle of lotion even as he teases Spinelli. By the time he's squirted a liberal amount of the liquid onto his hand, Spinelli is moaning again, which is a sound Jason cold very much get used to hearing.

Despite the distraction of Jason's mouth on him, Spinelli still gasps and tenses when the elder first pushes one slick finger inside of him. As opposed to pulling off, however, Jason just locks his eyes with his clearly nervous lover's, and slowly, Spinelli begins to relax. Once he has, Jason slides his finger in deeper, searching for the target that will ensure Spinelli does enjoy this, simultaneously swirling his tongue around the erect member in his mouth.

"Oh, oh… wow." Spinelli arches off the bed and further down Jason's throat when it's evident that he's finally hit that bundle of nerves. "That's…"

Jason's throat vibrates in what is a muted attempt at a protest, but he ends up using his free hand instead, to hold Spinelli down once again, even as he adds a second finger.

The combination of numerous new kinds of stimulation nearly proves too much for Spinelli, but Jason pulls away at the last moment and curls his fingers around the base of the younger's length to hold him off. He crooks hi fingers a bit, aiming intently for Spinelli's prostate again and this time he doesn't fight the way Spinelli shifts and moves to get him to do it again.

"Mm, Stone Cold… C'mon. Guhn, more, please…" He begs, his hands once again reaching out towards Jason, but he swats the younger's hands away.

A third finger joins the first two, but Spinelli winces a bit at that, so Jason stills and moves to distract him again by pressing soft kisses to his hips and stomach, whatever he can reach without moving, and it seems to calm Spinelli down. "Okay?" Jason asks, when a moment has passed.

"Affirmative." Spinelli nods, and he's groaning when Jason finally moves his fingers again.

When Jason feels like the younger man is thoroughly stretched and prepared, he removes his hand and sits back to remove his own jeans, and really it's a wonder how he managed to keep them on so long. Upon doing away with the remaining clothing separating them, he climbs over the other's frame, once again pressing his lips to Spinelli's. He reaches for the condom he tossed aside earlier, but Spinelli's hand darts out and stops him. Thinking that perhaps Spinelli has finally changed his mind, he moves away, but Spinelli won't let go of his arm, so it's not like he can get that far away.

"Wuh, wait… Wait." Spinelli stutters, and Jason meets his lover's totally awake green eyes.

"We can still stop, its okay." Jason tells him, since he's pretty sure that's where Spinelli is going. Because Jason is still somewhat convinced that Santa is playing some horribly demented trick on him, as Jason and Christmas have pretty much been synonymous with something going wrong in the past. Be it dinner with the Quartermaine's or various train wrecks – figurative and literal - and the like, and while those situations are phenomenally different than falling into bed with his best friend, it would fall in line with the rest of his life. "It's alright, I won't be mad at you."

Spinelli stares at him. "I assure you that of all the things the Jackal currently wants, stopping is most definitely not one of them."

Jason makes a mental note to stop second guessing Spinelli on this, but there is still a lingering matter of the younger's reasons for, in fact, stopping him. "What's wrong then?"

"I… it's just that…. The Jackal has always trusted you so implicitly Stone Cold, and he hopes that you reciprocate that trust, and…" His gaze lingers to the square package resting in Jason's hand. And, really, it's all kinds of unfair that Spinelli can still make sense right now

But, he catches on, then. "I do trust you." Jason says. "You know I do." And they both know that's the truth. Cyber Genius or not, if Jason didn't trust Spinelli, he wouldn't still be around to know about the business or secrets or much of anything.

Spinelli's green eyes stare up at him with a twinge of hurt in them. "Why, then, does Stone Cold feel the need to use protection if we trust each other so?"

"It's easier on you, for one." Jason explains, because Spinelli is not the first guy he's been with. "And it's just safer, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you. Ever."

"Alright. But, ugh, maybe… if this goes somewhere. And we do this some more…?"

Jason's amenable to that. He just doesn't want anything bad to happen to Spinelli because of this, especially if it turns out to be something he won't want again. "Yeah." He nods. "Do you want this to happen again?"

"The Jackal is admittedly a bit unsure on his answer to that question." Spinelli releases the hold he's had on Jason's wrist. "But, for now, perhaps we should continue what we were doing."

Through their talk, they've both lost some of the momentum they'd previously had, but Jason leans over the younger man again, kissing him passionately even as his hand return's to Spinelli's length, urging him back into his previously hardened state.

Letting out a moan, Spinelli decides to return the favor and his hand wanders to Jason's cock. He's not really sure what to do with it, because he's never touched anyone but himself, so he takes that approach. He does what he knows he likes. "I… I don't really…" He starts to say, but Jason cuts him off with another hard kiss. He twists his wrist a bit and that seems to get a nice reaction out of Jason, a rather un-Stone Cold like groan, so he does it again, stroking up and down as he goes.

"Enough." Jason pants a moment later, and he catches Spinelli's wrist to stop him. "If you want this to go further, you gotta stop." And Spinelli obeys and removes his hand even as his intense green eyes watch Jason grab for the condom. Jason rips the condom open with his teeth, which makes Spinelli swallow and stare wide eyed, because that's inexplicably very hot. "You ready?" He asks, as he rolls it on.

"Yeah." Spinelli nods, and Jason shifts to rest between his legs.

He pauses in the proceedings yet again to liberally coat himself in lube, just to make this all that much easier on the younger man. "Put you leg on my shoulder." Jason instructs, and once again, Spinelli does as told. With Spinelli as prepared as he's going to get, Jason leans forward to kiss him again as he slowly lines up. "Relax."

Spinelli feels the first signs of entry coming, and one of his hands finds Jason's. He's not relaxing he knows, and he knows Jason knows, too. And Jason just waits patiently for him, under intense scrutiny from ice blue eyes that are glazed over in much the same way as his own green ones. And, that makes him relax. He lifts his head to bring his lips against his Stone Cold's neck, trailing up to eventually find his lips even as Jason enters him. The stretch is slightly painful, and burns a bit, and Jason goes slow to give him plenty of time to adjust. And it feels nice in a way, too, like something that was missing is there now, and when Jason gets all the way in and hits his prostate he knows he's going to want to do this again. But, Jason is looking at him like he's waiting for some sort of signal, and eventually Spinelli catches on. "You… you can move." He manages to get out.

Jason groans with the self-control it takes to start out slow. He barely moves at all, at first, really, until Spinelli starts reacting and groaning each time he brushes against the bundle of nerves. Then his thrusts become more drawn out and rhythmic, beginning to pick up speed. And soon Spinelli is moving to meet him every time he sinks himself in. With Spinelli's input, he gets deeper than before.

"Ooh, Stone Cold," The younger moans between sloppy kisses. "…. Please, more…" He's practically begging, as he tries to get his hand between them to wrap around his own aching erection, but Jason swats his hand away, and uses his own. His request is complied with, as Jason's speed increases. But he is slightly more focused on the hand on him, twisting and thrusting more and more erratically as the seconds and minutes pass before the electricity that has wound itself inside of Spinelli uncoils and he throws his head back in something akin to pure ecstasy.

A handful of deep drives in and Jason isn't far behind, between watching Spinelli and feeling Spinelli and just everything, he comes, too, and his head falls forward to rest against Spinelli's collarbone. He feels Spinelli's fingers tangle in his hair and he looks up to meet sated green eyes. And, really, he'd really like to see that look a lot more often. "Still alright?" Jason asks.

Spinelli has a slightly astounded grin on his face, and Jason can't help but to grin right back at him. "The Jackal is exponentially better than alright." He answers. Jason distracts him by extricating himself from the tangle of limbs and pulling out of Spinelli in favor of lying beside him. "And… and he would quite like to do this again in the near future."

Jason leans over and kisses him again. "Glad to hear it." He says, with an edge of nervousness fading from his voice that Spinelli still manages to detect. It was clear he'd been worried over how Spinelli would react. He goes about cleaning the both of them up quickly, and is back beside Spinelli in a matter of what seems like seconds. The younger is tucked protectively against his side, chest to chest, and he's watching as sleepy green eyes watch him intently yet again. "Get some sleep, okay?" He prompts. "I's Christmas. You get presents in the morning."

"The Jackal believes he may have already been given the best gift of all this Christmas."

* * *

A ringing phone wakes him. He blinks, trying to adjust to the harsh light streaming into the living room of the Penthouse. "Tis I, the Jackal," He says in greeting, without even looking at the caller ID on his phone.

"_Okay, I thought I was having a really wild dream, and then I woke up and there was a gift by my bed_." Maxie's voice gives him cause to look around, and indeed there is a wrapped parcel sitting on the coffee table.

"I've received a gift as well."

"_You have to open it, Spinelli_." Maxie demands so he sits up post haste and does as told.

He tears the paper open to reveal a framed photo. "Our picture with Santa!"

"_You were right about everything._" She tells him. And he grins.

"There truly is magic in this world, Maximista."

"_And I'm glad we got a chance to share it_." She says, and he can practically hear her smiling.

His sparkling green eyes dance with unfounded Christmas joy. "Merry Christmas, Maxie." He says, and she echoes his sentiments before they both hang up.

Upon doing so, however, Spinelli realizes that his and Maxie's adventure around Port Charles was not the only thing he got up to last night. He and Jason…

That wasn't a dream, was it? God, he certainly hopes it wasn't. He looks around frantically for some evidence that it really happened. And finds he's wearing some of it. Instead of his red and grey sweater and jeans, he's wearing one of Stole Cold's black t-shirts and what appear to be a pair of pajama pants that are entirely too big for him. Second, there is a lingering soreness in certain parts of his anatomy. On top of that, several articles of clothing lay strewn not far from him on the floor. And finally, an elastic band tethered to a gift tag still resides on his wrist, its message the same as last night.

"Stone Cold?" He calls hesitantly, because the only thing he can't figure out is why he's sleeping on the couch when the last thing he remembers is curling up beside his lover in bed. Curious now, he starts up the stairs, only to run square into Jason as he rounds the corner.

"You're awake." Jason observes, dressed rather similarly to Spinelli, and Jason's ice blue eyes take in his clothing choices with an approving stare. "For real."

Spinelli is suitably baffled. "Ugh, what do you mean?"

"You got up and walked down here in the middle of the night. Sleep walking or something." Jason explains, looking thoroughly confused himself. "I tried to stop you."

"Last night's events were not, in fact, a dream, were they?" Spinelli asks, just to be sure, and when Jason reaches out for him, it erases all doubts.

Jason recalls having a rather obnoxiously absurd dream a long time ago, so he can kind of guess where the younger man and his hopeful green eyes are coming from with that question. "Not a dream." He promises, as he grabs hold of the gift tag. It comes off, this time, as it wouldn't last night, but the pull it causes, lets Spinelli fall rather ungracefully into Jason's arms yet again. He grins, as he ducks his head to kiss Spinelli. "Merry Christmas."


End file.
